On March 5, 1861, Abraham Lincoln, only president for a day, had to make a decision on what to do. Lincoln had a divided cabinet, a divided party, and a divided country. Half of his cabinet wanted war with the newly-formed Confederacy. The other half, led by William Seward, wanted peace.
In his inaugural address, Lincoln attempted to clarify his position regarding Fort Sumter and other federal property in the seceding states. Because the constitution attempted "to form a more perfect union," it follows, Lincoln argued, that the possibility that a state, on its own, could secede would render the constitution less perfect. "I therefore consider that, in view of the Constitution and the laws, the Union is unbroken" and "that the laws of the Union [will] be faithfully executed in all the States." Lincoln considered this a "simple duty" that should "not be regarded as a menace" but as an obvious and stated purpose of the Union as expressed in the constitution. "In doing this there needs to be no bloodshed or violence; and there shall be none, unless it be forced upon the national authority," Lincoln continued. "The power confided to me, will be used to hold, occupy, and possess the property, and places belonging to the government, and to collect duties and imposts; but beyond what may be necessary for these objects, there will be no invasion—no using force against, or among the people anywhere." Should a particular place prove utterly hostile to any federal presence in a region, Lincoln promised to forgo any federal presence....
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